Christianity Without Compromise: Rebuilding Faith Around Jesus Alone

The desire to define God can easily become the desire to control God—and maybe, to control other people. Rev. Richard Bowles, associate minister at Simplicity Christian Church and managing editor of Impact Magazine, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss why Christians can know God intimately through Christ without pretending to fully define or contain God. Using...

Worship music may feel like a neutral expression of faith, but may also be helping form extreme Christian theologies? Rick Pidcock, author of Weapons of Worship , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how evangelical worship culture can shape theology, identity, and attitudes toward power. Rick traces the connection between worship music, Christian nationalism, s...

Political division has made Christian unity across ideological lines feel almost impossible—but should political agreement determine who belongs together in church? Dennis Sanders, pastor and host of the Church and Main podcast, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss whether Christians with deeply different political and theological convictions can genuinely worsh...

Some Christians look like a spiritual success while the person inside is spiritually starving. Jacob Coyne, author of The Secret Life of Christians , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how chasing influence, productivity, and outward appearances can replace genuine intimacy with God. Jacob explains why authentic faith requires a life free from hidden contradic...

Keeping the peace can look spiritual while actually undermining Christian unity through avoidance, uniformity, and unresolved division. Pricelis Perreaux-Dominguez, pastor, justice worker, and author of False Peace , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss why the church must reject false peace and pursue a more honest vision of unity. Pricelis explains that Christ...

In this special live 100th episode, Jake Doberenz, creator and host of Christianity Without Compromise , reflects on the show’s journey, revisits its ten most popular conversations, and answers listener questions about faith, church, doubt, and Christian convictions. Looking back, Jake explains why Christianity Without Compromise has increasingly focused on clearing away the things Christians trea...

Pop psychology promises greater self-understanding, but therapy culture can turn normal sadness, conflict, suffering, and personal responsibility into problems that require medical labels and solutions. Dr. Matthew Loftus, physician, writer, and author of Resisting Therapy Culture , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how therapeutic language has expanded beyon...

Purity culture taught many people to fear their own bodies, desires, and capacity for pleasure. Kelly Edmiston, pastor and author, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how purity culture created a damaging divide between the body and spiritual life. Kelly distinguishes Christian chastity from sexual repression, explains why desire can reveal what is forming us,...

Many Christians know the Bible but effectively skip 2,000 years of church history, leaving them disconnected from generations of believers who wrestled with many of the same questions facing the church today. Dr. Amy Brown Hughes, historical theologian and scholar of early Christianity, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss why church history should become part o...

Many Christians assume that leaving evangelicalism means abandoning faith altogether, but that false choice keeps many people stuck. Beau Stringer, writer and minister, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how Christians can navigate deconstruction while remaining deeply committed to Jesus. Beau shares his journey from Southern Baptist pastor to serving on staff...

Many believers confuse peacemaking with either avoiding conflict or winning arguments. Mark DeYmaz, pastor, author, and longtime advocate for multiethnic ministry, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how the Prayer of St. Francis offers a practical roadmap for becoming genuine peacemakers. Mark explains why following Jesus means removing “peace-disturbing facto...

When church abuse happens, some of the greatest failures comes after the harm itself. On this episode of Christianity Without Compromise , originally recorded live, Amy Fritz, host of the Untangled Faith Podcast , Johnna Harris, co-host of the Bodies Behind the Bus Podcast , and Chantal McKinney, author of Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls , are on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake...

The culture wars promise victory, but leave Christians more divided and the church less faithful. Makoto Fujimura, artist, author, and founder of I Am Culture Care, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss why Christians need a better vision for engaging culture than winning ideological battles. Mako traces the origins of the culture wars, explains how the metaphor...

Women in the Bible may seem like side characters, but the problem may be the way Scripture has been taught rather than the text itself. Jessica L.M. Jenkins, Bible teacher, author, speaker, and host of the Women of the Bible in Context podcast, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how church language, cultural assumptions, and incomplete teaching have obscured w...

Many Christians assume the best way to defend the Christian faith is by proving Christianity with arguments, but that approach can actually distort the faith it pretends to protect. In this solo episode of Christianity Without Compromise , Jake Doberenz shares how a lifelong passion for Christian apologetics eventually gave way to a deeper understanding of faith as allegiance, spiritual formation,...

When church leaders protect institutions instead of wounded people, many Christians want to know what happens to faith after betrayal, abuse, and spiritual disillusionment. Chantal McKinney, author of Following Jesus Beyond Church Walls , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss surviving sexual harassment inside a progressive Christian denomination and the devastat...

Many Christians claim to love the Bible, yet modern Christianity often uses Scripture as ammunition for culture wars, political tribes, and theological fear instead of transformation through Jesus. Richard Beck, psychologist, theologian, and professor, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss why anxious Christians struggle to read the Bible well and how fear shapes...

Most Christians believe loving neighbors matters, but everyday life quietly trains people toward distraction, fear, contempt, and isolation instead. Brittany Tausen, social psychologist and professor, and Katie M. Douglass, practical theologian and professor, are on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how psychology and theology together reveal the hidden obstacles t...

Church trauma and abuse leave many Christians convinced their story is too broken to redeem. Mary DeMuth is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss surviving childhood sexual abuse, navigating years of complex trauma, and why healing is usually slow, painful, and deeply communal. Mary shares how unhealthy patterns can feel safer than freedom, why Christians often rush...

In many corners of Christianity, being right has become more important than loving people well. Jake Doberenz is on Christianity Without Compromise to discuss why Christian knowledge without love ultimately damages the church and distorts the Gospel. Drawing from 1 Corinthians, Jake explores how the Corinthian church elevated wisdom, debate, and theological certainty while neglecting love. He unpa...

Deconstruction has become one of the most polarizing conversations in Christianity, but many Christians are leaving church because the faith they inherited didn’t produce good fruit. Tommy Preson Phillips, musician, pastor, and co-author of Invisible Jesus , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how doubt, science, church culture, and evangelical certainty pushed...

Church abuse continues to infiltrate Christian communities, though many refuse to confront it. Johnna Harris, co-host of the Bodies Behind the Bus podcast, is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how patterns of church abuse develop and persist within Western evangelical spaces. Johnna explains how systems prioritize institutional protection over truth. She unpacks...

Many expressions of Christianity begin with a distorted view of human nature, framing identity primarily around sin rather than goodness. Marty Solomon, host of the BEMA Podcast and author of The Gospel of Being Human , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss why this common Christian framework misses the Bible’s actual starting point. Marty explains how beginning...

On this episode of Christianity Without Compromise , originally recorded live, Kate Boyd (author and founder of The Remember Table), Tiffany Yecke Brooks (author and professor) and Loren Richmond Jr (podcaster and hospital chaplain) join host Jake Doberenz for a discussion on labels, identity, and faith. In this episode, Kate Boyd reflects on how labels both comfort and constrain, often shaping fa...

We know Christians are supposed to give to those in need, but should effectiveness be considered in how we change lives? J.D. Bauman, co-author of All the Lives You Can Change , is on Christianity Without Compromise with host Jake Doberenz to discuss how Christians can steward their resources with greater impact and intentionality. J.D. explains how effective altruism reframes generosity by focusi...